FDA chief called to White House as Trump pushes for vaccine
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the agency responsible for approving any COVID-19 vaccine for the U.S. was summoned to the White House Tuesday as an increasingly frustrated President Donald Trump complained approval wasn't coming faster.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows called in Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, for a meeting as the agency weighed whether to allow emergency use of the first vaccines that could help defeat the coronavirus.
Trump has been livid with the FDA for not moving faster on the vaccine, blaming it in part for his reelection loss. He has also leveled unfounded claims that drug companies deliberately delayed vaccine development to hinder his chances.
Tuesday's meeting came as the FDA weighed whether to authorize two experimental vaccines that have been raced through development. Many Americans already harbor concerns about the potential impact of political pressure on vaccine development, and public health officials have been trying to provide reassurance that the approval process has been free from influence.
Meanwhile, a separate scientific panel was tackling the pressing question of who should come first f or vaccinations when they become available.
The government’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will make recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on shots to fight the disease, which has killed nearly 270,000 Americans.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the purpose of the meeting meeting with the FDA's Hahn. But many aides to the president recognize that it would look bad for Trump to lose Hahn on the cusp of vaccine authorization. And some expressed concern Tuesday that the White House meeting was even happening, for fear that it could undercut efforts to frame the vaccine as a...
